RefreshClassifieds

Hot on the heals of the 2007/2008 print directory launch in Montreal,  the Yellow Pages group has launched a light edition for the Calgary market in Canada.  It would appear that like the full directory the light edition is being distributed to all homes in Calgary.   Also like the full directory the light edition will include all advertising categories.   The light directory appears to be targeted on people who want a glove box edition, or something to carry with them but not clear how big the market is for portable print directories.

Maybe the most interesting aspect of the light edition is the inclusion of a “Your Life Events Planner” section.  Directory usage is often linked to different life events like moving, getting married or having kids.  Each of these generates a need to contact new busineses in your area.  I think think its a great idea that a directory attempt to connect with these life events that generated so much value for advertisers.

Overall I don’t think there is clear value for advertisers in the light edition.  I’m not sure that a smaller former factor will really generate enough additional usage to justify the addition expense of advertising in both the full directory and light edition.

Disclosure:  Yellow Pages Group purchased Trader Media Corporation in 2006 and I was an employee of Trader Corporation from 2006 to 2007 which was owned by Yellow Pages Group.  I still own stock in Yellow Pages Group as a result.

Rocky Mount Telegram has announced a new look to their classified section. The new layout is clean and clear featuring 4 distinct searches for Real Estate, Merchandise, Employment and Automotive. The search for each of these categories was quick and easy to navigate with an RSS/XML export option for consumers that would rather read listings using an RSS reader.

We were less excited about the process to place ads. The process started with a fairly intimidating form that required all the ad information on single page and started with the contact name, business name and phone numbers. The page layout was also clutter with a lot of text and information for call center.

Overall a great improvement though and its great to see a local newspaper investing in the classified site and technology. We feel that creating local brand loyalty is a great way to defend against free online classified sites which are entering the market.

China Telecom has announced that they will separate their directory business from their Telecom unit. The spin off will receive $47M in capital and be run by the head of the China Telecom Shanghai division. No information on ownership structure was disclosed, in fact China Telecom has made no official announcement on the spin off. A variety of mainstream Chinese media are covering the spin off so its expected to be reliable.
The spin off news follows a partnership earlier this year with Google to sell advertising on the directory sites and with Microsoft to provide search functionality for the sites. A a minimum China Telecom appears to be setting up the directory business to grow independently of its Telecom service group. The Telecom service grow is starting to slow but the Business Directory business should be in a good position to grow, especially with partnerships with Google and Microsoft.

FreeAdLists.com has launched a free classified service worldwide. All classified ads are free and can be placed by geographic region, or major city. The site features multiple languages to provide maximum support worldwide.

The ad creation process appears to be more involved that other sites like Kijiji or Craigslist but ad does carry more information than these services. The site also features several anti-fraud services to help prevent fraudulent ads from making it on the site. Currently the site has very little content in most major markets. It will be interesting to see what marketing services the site uses as it tried to gain content.

Probably the biggest challenge for the site will be differentiating against free. There are a number of other free classified sites and it will be hard for the site to get users to post their content. To grow paid classifieds the process normally involves discounting to build up content, to attract users so that the value of the classified increases. With a free site this is very little incentive to post into a fairly deserted site…

Roy Wood, the sites President and Founder, appears to be active blogger so we expect blogging and social media to be a strong point of impact for the sites marketing efforts. The company is located in Songtan, South Korea so it will be difficult for it market directly in more popular markets like the USA.

SuperCarDirect.com has launched with free ads for both private sellers and dealers.  Automotive classifieds have traditionally been funded on the backs of dealers.  With consumers initially searching for a used car from a private seller but eventually buying from a dealer with more inventory.

The SuperCarDirect.com model is surprising in that it gives up the dealer revenue in the hope of getting revenue from banner ads and axillary advertising on the site.  The site intends to focus on advertising from racing teams, tracks and events across the USA.  There was no mention of the automotive manufactures or automotive service businesses as advertising targets but these would appear to be more likely advertising targets.

A quick search of the site did not reveal many ads and this may be a result of no partnerships with automotive capture services.  Across the USA, most dealers third-party capture services to capture their vehicle inventory and put the information and photos into advertising.   This is normally done in combination with state regulared window sticker creation and data capture.   Most of these services charge the advertising site for each vehicle listing so it will be interesting to see how SuperCarDirect.com can partner with them using a purely free model.

MediaCorp has launched its new classifieds site, Mocca.com, with a focus on providing more social interaction than is traditionally available for classified sites. The site will focus on the Asian marketing and specifically the Singapore market initially. Going well beyond basic classifieds the site allows users to upload multiple photos and even create virtual tours using video. Currently ads are free as an introductory offer, after the introductory offer Automotive, Real Estate and advertisers wanting to additional photos or rich media pay a fee of $15 per ad.

The site will feature additional social interaction capabilities shortly with the ability to discussion local real estate markets and other connections from MediaCorp partner sites. Mocca has secured commitments from several local real estate companies, including Global Real Estate, ERA Singapore and HSR Property Group.

MediaCorp is committed to growing the site to 50-60M page views over the next 2 years with full advertising support from its radio, print and television partners. The site has also launched with celebrity auctions from its popular media partners which proceedings going to local charities.

CozyBug.com has launched a new classified site focused around larger items traditionally more difficult to sell through classifieds. The site hopes to connect buyers and sellers through Swap Spots. Swap spots are local businesses that assist with getting buyer and seller together and may be able to assist with some the logistics moving large items.

The Swap Spots are an interesting innovation. For years one of the challenges in the classified industry is handling and moving larger items like appliances and furniture. By creating an additional aide to support this system Cozybug should be able to drive additional value for both the classified advertiser and buyer.

Like most new classified sites, basic advertising is free with small charges for additional details like more photos. The site also features rich content for the classified ads and includes a mapping feature for garage sales. Cozybug hopes the rich media will help differentiate it from competitive sites.